-- Surrounded by a massive crowd of friends and family, on a street lined with fire engines and American flags, one special Staten Islander received a homecoming unlike any other.

The family of John Hudson Dilgen, a South Shore 16-year-old living with a rare skin disease, received the keys to a brand new, mortgage-free, handicapped-accessible home in Tottenville -- courtesy of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation -- on Wednesday.

“I don’t know if there’s anything better to do today in the world, not just here on Staten Island, than to do something that is so good, so right and so just, for a young man that’s so deserving and has shown such courage,” said Frank Siller, CEO and chairman of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

John Hudson Dilgen, a 16-year-old living with epidermolysys bullosa, and his family receive a new handicapped-accessible home in Tottenville courtesy of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. (Video: Shira Stoll)14h ago

John Hudson Dilgen, a 16-year-old living with epidermolysys bullosa, and his family receive a new handicapped-accessible home in Tottenville courtesy of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. (Video: Shira Stoll)

A Thanksgiving Eve rivalry showdown between CHSAA Island foes Monsignor Farrell and St. Joseph-by-the-Sea with a max capacity crowd of nearly 1,000 fans on hand at the Lions' Oakwood gymnasium.

A few hours after laying the Farrell mega fan to rest in the very same gym, the hoops team hit the hardwood for the first time without him on the sideline and walloped the visiting Vikings, coming away with a 74-38 triumph.

A seat remained empty at the end of the Lions' bench with some of Grube's personal Farrell mementos, as well as his mass card.

-- A bitter cold will sweep through New York Thursday, which is expected to be one of the coldest Thanksgivings on record, with wind gusts ranging from 25-30 mph and temperatures dropping down into the teens.

At daybreak it will be 20 degrees, reaching a high of 27 degrees around the afternoon and then dropping down to 19 degrees during the night, according to Dave Dombek, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.

“For the wind, it’s actually going to be at its worst during the morning.

Michael Sykes is sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison without parole for brutally murdering two of his girlfriend, Rebecca Cutler’s young children – Ziana Cutler and Maliyah Sykes – in a bloody rampage inside the Ramada Inn hotel in Willowbrook on Feb. 10, 2016. He was also sentenced to a consecutive term of 25 years to life for severely wounding Miracle Cutler, Rebecca Cutler’s other daughter, who survived the attack. Maliyah Sykes was Michael Sykes and Rebecca Cutler’s daughter. The other two children were Cutler’s children with another man. (Staten Island Advance/Amanda Steen)

STATEN ISLAND -- As Staten Islanders grapple with rising cases of Lyme disease, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Lyme disease survivor, paid a visit to the borough Wednesday to call for more resources to be dedicated to fight the disease and find a cure.

“The disease is sort of a mystery, we don’t have a test yet that’s accurate … we don’t have a vaccine that can cure it, and we don’t have enough education so that when people are bitten by a tick, they know what to do,” Schumer said outside of Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze alongside fellow Lyme disease survivors and physicians.

From 2012 to 2017, Staten Island saw a 250 percent rise in cases of Lyme disease -- the sharpest jump in the disease of the five boroughs over the last five years, according to the latest Health Department data.

-- If you need a break from all of the Black Friday shopping madness this year, consider popping into a 7-Eleven, where customers can bring their own container and fill 'er up with a favorite Slurpee flavor.

It’s all part of the convenience store’s Bring Your Own Cup (BYOC) Day, when any cup -- or container that can be used as a cup -- can be filled with a Slurpee for $1.49, regardless of size.

According to 7-Eleven, that means you can bring everything from a Thermos to a punchbowl and enjoy your favorite flavor.

-- The brother of the man who was found dead along with his wife and two children in a possible quadruple homicide in Colts Neck, N.J., was charged Wednesday with setting his own Ocean Township home on fire, authorities said.

Paul Caneiro, 51, formerly of Tottenville, was booked on an aggravated arson charge in connection to the blaze at his Tilton Avenue home Tuesday, according to the Monmouth County prosecutor’s office.

Paul’s brother Keith Caneiro was found dead on his family’s Colts Neck front lawn with a gunshot wound that did not appear to be self-inflicted, according to NJ.com .

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office on Wednesday said it is declining to pursue felony domestic abuse charges against Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who rose to fame after he sued President Donald Trump on behalf of an adult-film star, and referred the case to the city attorney for possible misdemeanor charges.

Miniutti alleged she was physically and verbally abused by Avenatti, according to her attorney.

She filed a request for a temporary restraining order against him, which a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted Monday.

-- Revelers looking to hit the bars Thanksgiving eve have no excuse for getting behind the wheel -- for the second year in a row, officials are arranging free Uber rides to get them home safely.

On Wednesday from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., passengers will be able to ride twice for free per user (up to $15 each ride) by typing the code SAFERIDESI18 into the app, according to a flier District Attorney Michael E. McMahon recently shared on Twitter.

McMahon noted the help of Borough President James Oddo, Uber and the organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for helping make the program possible.

Following a Sunday morning protest of the promotion of Capt. Kenneth Noonan to deputy inspector of the NYPD, the Advance has obtained audio of the police captain allegedly threatening other officers.
On the audio obtained by the Advance, Noonan allegedly says: “The old culture of the 123 Precinct is dead, is dead. And anyone who wants to cling to that culture I’m going to kill."
Roy Richter, president of the Captains Endowment Association and a source confirmed that the edited audio is of Noonan addressing other officers.
“The commander expressed frustration and indicated discipline when faced with incidents of members failing to respond to calls for assistance,” said Richter. “There were no threats of violence of physical harm. He is being promoted in recognition of the positive impact his leadership has had on the community.”
However, Ed Mullins, president of the SBA, said: “The message is it’s okay as a supervisor to be aggressive, push quotas and threaten to kill cops."

— James Grant -- the former top cop from Staten Island on trial on bribery charges -- carefully stretches his long, white rosary beads on the dark brown defense table, making sure the silver cross is perfectly straight.

A few inches right of the beads rests a Jewish holy book belonging to his friend and co-defendant Jeremy Reichberg.

The longtime buddies may have different beliefs about God, but they’re praying for the same thing -- that the jury doesn’t buy Jona Rechnitz’s sordid story.

-- If you’ve always wanted to take the kids to see the balloons of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade up close, but don’t want to brave the crowds on Thanksgiving Day, you may want to consider heading into Manhattan to see them as they are inflated.

The parade folks inflate the giant balloons on the eve of Thanksgiving each year, allowing visitors to watch them as they come to life.

21, from 1 to 8 p.m., with spectators entering at the security checkpoint on 74th Street and Central Park West.

Moore and Johnson have each pleaded guilty to felony drug charges in separate cases.

The probe targeted the upper hierarchy of the alleged drug distribution network within the South Beach Houses.

Throughout the course of the sting operation, detectives seized about 77 grams of crack cocaine netted from undercover buys within the network, which grossed about $10,000 weekly in drug sales, authorities said.

-- A police officer and two other men were arrested when a melee erupted between competitors after they played beer pong at a popular bar in Annadale, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

NYPD Officer Thomas Decapua and Brooklynites Frank Nocera and Anthony Inserillo, all 25 years old, assaulted a 24-year-old man near the intersection of Annadale Road and Belfield Avenue around the Annadale train station at about 2:35 a.m. on Sept.

The dust-up followed a beer pong contest between the four men down the block at Play Sports Bar, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

Susan Wagner's Katie Altieri was having a fine season as it was, highlighted by a near-win at the PSAL City Championships. Tuesday, she put the cherry on the top, winning the individual Staten Island Championship with a time of...

Last Saturday, in the Seahawks' 41-7 win at Robert Morris, Gill seemingly spent the entire afternoon in the Colonials' backfield, recording 5.5 tackles for loss, for 24 yards, including a forced fumble.

The Fort Meade, FL native, who played his first two seasons at Monroe College, capped his collegiate career in style, becoming just the fifth player in NEC history to rush for more than 300 yards in a conference game.

Much like the Monday night football matchup between the Chiefs and Rams, Tuesday's Staten Island Cross Country Championships showdown between PSAL champion Susan Wagner and CHSAA Intersectional No.

The Falcons put up a good fight, getting all five scorers in the top 15 but in the end, Farrell knocked off the defending champs, 35-43, on the strength of their top three, headed by individual champion Chris Paxis.

"The plan all along was for Andrew Rainbolt, Anthony Bentivegna and I to go out and take control from the very beginning," said Paxis.

-- More than 600 Staten Islanders showed support for Project Hospitality at the 21st annual Poor People’s Dinner on Monday night at the Hilton Garden Inn.

“Tonight, members of every faith will break bread under one roof and that is what makes this event so special,” said Carrie Zwiebel Bloss, executive director of Project Hospitality.

The Micheal J. Petrides color guard welcomed guests with the pledge of allegiance, and "The Star Spangled Banner,” was sung by Angela Collazo of Port Richmond High School, before those gathered took part in a meager meal -- bean soup and a piece of bread.

-- The St. George Theatre on Monday announced that it will hosts its first-ever classic movie series next year to coincide with its 90th anniversary.

“We are very excited to bring movies back to the big screen at the St. George Theatre," said Doreen Cugno, president, CEO and co-founder of the nonprofit.

“Many people have fond memories of seeing movies here at the St. George, and with the help of our sponsors Williams Eye Works and Borough Five Pictures we are very proud to be returning to the theater’s original tradition.”